It's just one of those mornings where you're not even willing to open your eyes to face the day and want to stay in bed forever in a half-awake state.
Akihiko is laying on his side, not quite conscious, still foggy with the tendrils of some lucid dreams he doesn't want to let go of. He's just mentally indulging, cradling an imaginary Minako to him closely, keeping his eyelids shut in place to avoid breaking the spell. He knows how the fantasy plays out and goes along, because he wakes up this way now and then and the script is within bounds he can stay sane with.
He can feel her hand under the side of his head, her fingers resting in the short hair near his ear, and he nuzzles against it. He's not sure when his obsession with her nails ruffling his strands of liquid silver started but it might have something to do with Tartarus. Deep down he knows it's just the sunrays heating up his pillow that creates the illusion, but it feels so warm this morning.
His hand trails down her spine like a shiver, just like that day in the lounge when he was looking at her eyes melting in the glass reflection. It's just so tempting to follow that thought with languid kisses from the palm of her hand to her wrist, which is what he really wanted to do that night and didn't dare to.
There's just something about her hands, so delicate and soft yet strong like steel when she wants them to be. Maybe it's the thousand different ways she manages to burn his soul with the tiniest of brushes, like she's congealed flame made flesh.
He sighs in contentment, really wanting to fall back into reverie, when he feels something warm snaking over his leg and rubbing at the back of his calf like it wants to entwine around him further. A low hum that sounds suspiciously like a sleepy moan reverberates across his chest and the illusion wavers.
Moans are forbidden, they rattle the padlocks on that door, and he doesn't want to lose his mind again. He can distinctly feel her heartbeat on his lips and that's also too many details. That chases the last remnants of fog clinging to his awareness, and it dawns on him.
Oh no no no no...
He opens his eyes in shock and it explains why it smells like flowers and sunlight instead of his usual bed covers; it's her room, her bed, and it wasn't just a harmless morning fantasy. It takes him a minute to recollect how he got in his predicament and what exactly happened, then panic sets in like a vice. He's not supposed to be here, and he's not supposed to be doing that, especially if she's not even conscious, that didn't go so well last time and he doesn't want to go back there.
Akihiko cranes his neck to look toward the window and sighs in relief when it's barely daybreak; his early morning habit probably saved him from execution and or damnation. This is his only chance to walk out stealthily back to his room before the rest of the dorm wakes up. His braincells are too busy sparking like popping bubbles to form a coherent excuse as to why he'd even be in Minako's room so early or so late, depending how you look at it, so he can't chance it.
It's almost physically painful to extricate himself from her, not just because it's suddenly cold but mostly because it's the last thing he wants to do. She's warm, she smells nice, it was the best sleep he's ever had and…
And he's going to stop thinking about the rest because he'll never actually go. He also can't take any chance of waking her up, for various embarrassing reasons and because he might be inclined to stay regardless of the danger. Or continue what he was doing and…
Stop. Just, get out.
He's definitely not proud of the deception he pulls; he grabs her cellphone on her desk and changes the audio setting to silent to prevent her alarm from waking her up. They usually run very early in the morning together, but if she joins him today, he'll fly to pieces in some shape or form. And Akihiko definitely needs to run, a lot, to get all of this out of his system. She can probably use the rest, be in top condition for Tartarus tonight; maybe he can use that as an excuse if she gets mad, because she will notice his tampering for sure.
Stop and just go.
He wraps her covers around her so she doesn't shiver, absolutely not because her ankles are rubbing on each other like she's searching for something, also not because her skirt is all over the place and he doesn't dare get an inkling how high it goes.
Stop stalling and go!
He leans over, so very tempted to brush the hair away from her eyes but stops before he touches her and gets up in silence to leave. Luckily, he doesn't see a soul on the way, all he can hear is Junpei's loud snoring and he successfully sneaks into his room, ears full of reverb and completely winded in stress.
He takes the longer scenic route along the south waterfront until he is so out of breath and overheating from the sun that he must stop. The inner noise has calmed down somewhat, enough that Akihiko can function for the rest of the day without being a jittery mess. He takes his time getting back to the dorm, so hungry he could die.
A shower later and eating one of his portioned meals in the lounge, completely out of energy, he sees Minako's frame appear in the staircase. He's trying to gauge her mood from afar, he might have miscalculated by screwing with her schedule because she had a full day planned.
But she's bouncing down the steps in a skimpy sundress and a travel bag on her shoulder, earphones on and dancing toward the kitchen, tapping her fingers like drumsticks on every surface she passes to the beat of her music. She ruffles Minato's blue mop into disarray at the bar counter, who's sitting with Fuuka and her laptop to look at cooking recipes and he grumbles back, replacing it. Yamagishi laughs softly, like she's used to the exuberance.
"Good morning Minako!"
Junpei stops slurping his instant ramen from the sofa to holler at her absently.
"Well, someone's in a good mood this morning!"
She grins from the kitchen doorway at Iori and goes on rummaging in the fridge. She never even looked at him or acknowledged his presence and now he's thinking he might actually be in trouble.
She gets to the bar counter to slide her snacks in her bag, adjusts its content and grab something from one of its side pockets. The twins exchange a loaded look and she rolls her eyes at him scoffing, then runs off again, this time making a detour behind his chair.
She stops and he holds his breath, a thousand bells ringing in his mind. There's a lot of people around, not really paying attention to him, but still enough to make him really uncomfortable. Minako giggles and leans over his right shoulder to whisper in his ear, sliding her left arm on the other side to rest on the table's edge.
"If you're going to tamper with it, at least make it count!"
She opens her palm and a note with a phone number falls on his lap. He's about to turn around to look at her when she takes her fingers off the wood and instead steals a piece of chicken on his plate. That takes his eyes back the other way for barely a second and she laughs softly in his ear.
"You're just too adorable!"
The tip of her nose barely ruffles his hair and she drops a kiss on his cheek in passing before running to the front door like the comet she is, so fast he barely registers. Minako's halfway through it when she looks back, licking her fingers and eyes gleaming with mirth, cheeks aflame.
"S'really good, thank you!"
The sound of her laughter echoes in the lounge after the door is closed and Akihiko is left dumbfounded at the whole speed of the event, unsure what the hell just happened.